Kelly headed to apparent victory in bid for two-year seat on San Anselmo council

Doug Kelly scored a convincing victory Tuesday in the three-person race for a two-year opening on the San Anselmo Town Council.

Kelly, 56, who sells computerized point-of-sale systems and serves on the town's Parks and Recreation Commission, won with 39.10 percent of the vote. Steve Burdo, 36, a public affairs consultant with Kathleen Russell Consulting, came in second place with about 30.33 percent of the vote. Matt Brown, 50, owner of Meridian Commercial, finished on Burdo's heels with 30.23 percent.

Kelly sought a seat on the council in 2011, finishing third behind winners Lori Lopin and Ford Greene. Kelly attributed his victory to his close community ties.

"My eight years on parks and recreation and seven years coaching brought me close to the community. That's what did it for me, my friends here in the community."

During the campaign, both Kelly and Burdo voiced their support for a plan to reconfigure Memorial Park for use as a periodic flood-control basin. The proposal is part of a much larger $135 million proposal to control flooding in the Ross Valley. Brown, however, said he opposes the plan, objecting to its scope and cost.

Kelly said his victory, and the sizable number of votes garnered by Burdo, demonstrate strong community support for the flood control plan, and he plans to make its implementation a top priority.

"We need to take the blueprints off the wall, start putting shovels in the ground, and get something done," Kelly said.

One observer on Twitter commented Tuesday night that Kelly's victory would be bad news for San Anselmo's "urbanist progressives."

"I've never shied away from the fact that I'm a conservative Democrat," Kelly said. "Steve was certainly the Service Employees International Union candidate."

During the campaign, Kelly expressed his concern about state requirements to provide a specified number of new affordable housing units in San Anselmo, which has a low growth rate.